The Department of Citizenship and Immigration has outlined forthcoming changes to Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program that use both protection and immigration criteria and, among other changes, call for a limiting of the numbers of refugees resettled who have high needs for services and support to achieve integration; furthermore these changes will unfairly disadvantage women refugees, the elderly and other vulnerable groups;

The changes include criteria for selection based on Canada’s foreign or economic interests and ministerial interests;

Recent changes to Canada’s Immigration Program will ensure that more immigrants will arrive with skills and expertise that will reduce the needs for settlement and integration services and supports;

Therefore be it resolved:

that the CCR advocate that:

Resettlement of refugees is first and foremost a tool of protection which must be the main motivation for Canada’s refugee resettlement program;

Foreign policy interests and other political or economic interests have no place in a humanitarian program;

The criteria defining the ability to successfully establish in Canada have no place in an humanitarian program that focuses on protection and should be eliminated entirely from the Refugee Resettlement Regulations;

Federal and provincial governments increase resources for programs and services to facilitate better integration outcomes especially when the refugee has high needs and may require different levels of support over a longer period of time.

The CCR’s 2003 resolution calls on its members to sensitize themselves on the issues facing First Nations communities and explore ways of having meaningful dialogue with these communities;

The CCR needs to further this position by taking concrete action to strengthen relationships with indigenous communities;

The CCR also must incorporate awareness of the history and present realities of indigenous peoples in our activities and our work;

Therefore be it resolved:

that the CCR Consultation and summer and winter Working Group meetings acknowledge the Indigenous territory on which they take place, and where appropriate invite and involve indigenous community members.

conditions imposed on individuals to be released from detention by the Immigration Division and conditions imposed for a stay of a deportation order by the Immigration Appeal Division do not always take into consideration difficulties of compliance for people with serious mental health issues.

Therefore be it resolved:

that CCR advocate that the IRB develop a policy for decision makers that requires that all conditions of release and stay take into account the ability of the person to comply with the conditions in light of their mental health status.

It is estimated that the backlog of refugee claims at the IRB will be approximately 38,000 at the time Bill C 31 comes into effect,

This backlog will severely hamper the functioning of the new system,

These individuals will be denied access to the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) and to consideration on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds solely due to delays in processing their claims at the Immigration and Refugee Board, and

Canada and other jurisdictions have implemented regularization programs to eliminate backlogs prior to changes in the refugee determination system

Therefore be it resolved:

that the CCR advocate for the establishment of an “earned regularization program” for refugee claimants whose claims have not been determined by the date of the coming into force of Bill C-31 and that participation in the program be voluntary and not result in the cancellation of the refugee protection claim.

that the CCR call on the Federal Court to adopt a practice of identifying refugee claimants by initials only and to take other appropriate measures to preserve confidentiality of private information for applicants seeking leave for judicial review of all immigration matters concerning risk to persons, including decisions by the Refugee Protection Division, Refugee Appeal Decision, the Immigration Division, and Minister’s delegates.

Anyone who resides in Canada should be entitled to an acceptable level of healthcare;

The Canada Health Act enshrines the principle of universality;

Preventative healthcare is both more humane and more economical than curative healthcare; and

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes that everyone has the right to “the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health” and that States have a duty of non-discrimination in the realization of that right.

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR oppose the reductions to the IFHP announced in April 2012 and advocate:

For the cancellation of the announced reductions,

Against any other reductions in IFHP coverage, and

Against any differentiation in coverage based on category of refugee or claimant, or stage of processing (e.g. claimant, accepted refugee, refused refugee, government-assisted refugees, privately-sponsored refugees).

The government of Canada is proposing to introduce a specified period of conditional permanent residence for some sponsored spouses and partners;

Making permanent residence for the sponsored partner conditional puts all the power into the hands of sponsor, who may use the precarity of the partner’s status as a tool for manipulation;

The proposed conditional permanent residency would represent a major step backwards in Canadian immigration policy, increase inequalities in relationships between spouses, and put women in particular at heightened risk of violence and exploitation;

Therefore be it resolved:

that the CCR oppose conditional permanent residence for sponsored spouses and partners.

Permanent residents who are found to be inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality or organized crime are denied access to the Immigration Appeal Division;

Convention refugees in Canada can be removed for reasons of serious criminality if there is a danger opinion against them;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR call for refugees and permanent residents facing removal on the basis of serious criminality or organized crime to have access to the IAD for consideration of humanitarian and compassionate factors.

The international community issued a call for action following the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) held in 2001 in Durban, South Africa and the Government of Canada presented Canada’s Action Plan Against Racism in 2005;

Examples of concerns include significant delays in the processing of cases in Sub Saharan African countries. Applicants face some of the longest waiting times and one of the highest rate of refusals, and the total quota of refugees accepted from the region is far lower than the extent of need identified by the UNHCR and NGOs. The recent announcement of a quota system for Quebec will reduce only the number of arrivals from Africa;

This is clear evidence of systemic racism experienced by individuals of African origin across all categories of refugee protection and immigration.

Therefore be it resolved:

that the CCR call on the government of Canada to take specific steps to address systemic racism evident in policy and practice in refugee protection and processing of immigration files of Sub-Saharan Africans, and reiterate the request made to the Government of Canada in resolution 7 of May 2007 and Resolution 1 of June 2010 (page 21).

Claimants will need assistance in understanding and preparing for the process;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR call on CIC and CBSA to adopt as a standard operating procedure the referral of claimants to appropriate and willing community agencies, such as an immigrant serving agency or legal aid, in a city or area of choice of the claimant, immediately after eligibility has been determined.

Canada has given itself a “Strategic Framework to Foster Immigration to Francophone Minority Communities” for francophone immigration outside of Québec. The strategy was crafted by the federal and provincial governments, at the request and with the participation of francophone communities outside of Québec;

Canada's current activities of recruitment of francophone immigrants abroad are mostly targeted at francophone countries in Europe, to the detriment of francophone countries in other regions of the world;

Francophone immigrants, most of them belonging to racialized communities, face differential treatment and experience poor outcomes in the Canadian labour market and other areas of Canadian life;

Yearly target levels for francophone immigration outside of Québec continue to be below the levels needed to ensure the demographic viability of francophone communities outside of Québec;

Refugee and immigrant serving organizations outside of Québec have a key role to play in supporting francophone immigrants’ settlement and integration, even if they do not provide services in French;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR:

Engage with the federal and provincial governments as appropriate to ensure:

Changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program to be implemented in April 2011 will impose a four year limit on the stay of Temporary Foreign Workers and a four year delay before they are able to participate again in the program;

This will increase the undocumented workforce and thus increase the vulnerability of workers;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR oppose the limit on duration of Temporary Foreign Workers’ stay and the imposed time period to re-apply for the program.

H&C applications are the only applications for permanent residence in Canada in which the best interests of the child and the right to family unity are taken into account;

Canada has legal obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to provide effective remedies to ensure the respect of these rights;

Delays in processing of H&C applications are leading to more and more people being removed from Canada prior to the examination of pending H&C applications;

Under Bill C-11, it is the government’s intention to remove failed claimants very quickly following their refusal;

Bill C-11 provides for fixed timelines for every stage of the refugee process;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR advocate for a commitment from CIC to rule on H&C applications within a fixed time frame of four months from the time of filing of the H&C application or, if a removal date is set before that, prior to the scheduled removal date.